is this hvx

slaytanicdavid(4)July 15, 2014

Hi everyone I'm trying to start a hosta garden. I found these at Wal-Mart on sale so I bought them and planted them. They were very dry and kinda yellow I just figured from the abuse at the store. Now I am reading about hvx and I'm concerned about my hosta I just started and already got dying plants lol. Any help would be appreciated.

It does look like bleeding and there is a sunken dark area which are indicative of HVX. If it is there will be signs of it on the other leaves. Keep an eye on it. If it is HVX it can spread only when cut and a host hosta is cut as well. So it will do no harm to wait a while and be sure.

If it spreads then the thing to do is kill it with Round-Up to make sure it is killed to the root. Then don't dig near it until Spring to ensure there is no possibility of live roots or plant matter anywhere.

Put a little Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer on it, water it well and see if the bleeding goes away. It could be stress.

I would wait for Ken or Chris to look at it before I blasted it with Round-up. I was sure that I had one with HVX, but Chris said it was stress. Chris said if the vein was the correct color, then it could be stress. Your vein is the right color. The one I had had a light middle, though.

If it does turn out to be HVX and you JUST planted it, as in the last few weeks, I would carefully dig it up and dispose of it, instead of introducing more HVX into the soil area by putting roundup on it and basically bathing the area in virus when the tissue starts to break down. It's not like the roots have had time to dig in. Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth. Just be sure to clean all tools thoroughly.

I know Jonny won't agree, but there are plenty of experts that would, so you'll have to think about it and make your own decision. Not trying to be contentious, just want a newbie to know there are other sides to the coin.

fun, there is no possibility of 'bathing the area' in virus. HVX can only be transmitted from a cut or scrape anywhere on the hosta. It would have to be introduced into a cut or scrape into another plant. Glyphosate kills by interrupting the enzymes of plants (and plants only). It is introduced into the foliage.

Digging up an infected hosta, no matter how carefully it was planted or 'dug up' is a far riskier proposition than ensuring that all plant matter is dead. Another thing to remember is that HVX cannot live outside of living tissue. There is no way it can survive in any liquid (I would guess especially Round-Up) unless it was in some part of the leaf, crown, root or any living hosta material.

The pictures do show classic symptoms of ink bleed along the veins and one definite area of collapse and darkening and possibly another. The other leaves will reinforce my estimation if they show signs of HVX. I suggested waiting as it will not do any harm unless the plant is abraded in some way and the 'sap' is allowed to enter another hosta.

Looking at the picture someone might be 100% convinced it is HVX. Digging up what is probably an HVX hosta can leave material that can live for over 2 years in the area. It can easily contaminate tools, which can be sanitized with bleach or Dawn antibacterial dishwashing soap.

I see killing the plant as the safest tact. The surest way to ensure the entire plant is killed down to the root is glyphosate. In the end it is the choice of the owner. I can only explain what I would do and why. I have had this conversation several times and no one has given me any reason to change my mind.

Glyphosate is the safest and most effective weed killer on the market and has been for over 40 years as verified by the FDA. There is no other or safer way to kill to the root and ensure that the HVX does not have a host to live on.

Thanks everyone for their reply hopefully Chris we'll check it out for me. It probably is I keep trying to grow plants just don't have much luck. But this forum is excellent do any advice is appreciated. Here is another leaf.

Ok I'm sorry to bug every one on here but I have another plant I got from a friend. The leaves are curled and I don't know if this is what you mean by mottled. I have some plants coming from a reputable dealer but if the hosta I got planted how do I plant without infecting my new ones? Wish I would have found this forum before I planted these.

My opinion on #1 is that what we are seeing is not HVX. There isn't any actual vein bleeding because it is the normal color on the veins, so it appears to be a leaf that hasn't colored up completely. I see a little corrugation but not a sunken area.

What you see is not a discoloration of the veins but a lighter portion between the veins and the correct coloring radiating from the veins. When the radiating color is the correct color like this then it isn't HVX.